Variable crimping eccentric press

ABSTRACT

In a variable crimping eccentric press including a crankshaft for oscillating a rod that actuates a crimping die and wherein the crankshaft has a built-in eccentric throw, means to vary the eccentric throw of the crankshaft including a replaceable cylinder secured to the crankshaft at its connection to the rod whereby the cylinder is constructed to have a degree of eccentricity that will achieve a desired eccentric throw of the rod.

0 United States Patent [151 3,639,966 Scharf 51 Feb. 8, 1972 [54] VARIABLE CRIMPING ECCENTRIC 3,350,765 I 1/1967 Karl ..29/203 D PRESS Primary Examiner'I'homas H. Eager lnlemol'i Herbert a 437 y" Road, Attorney-Caesar, Rivise, Bernstein & Cohen Merion, Pa. 19066 [221 Filed: June 18, 1970 [57] ABSTRACT In a variable crim in eccentric ress includin a rankshaft 2! A l.N.:4740 P P 8 l 1 pp 0 5 for oscillating a rod that actuates a crimping die and wherein the crankshaft has a built-in eccentric throw, means to vary [52] US. Cl. ..29/203 D the eccentric throw of the crankshaft including a replaceable [5 I I Int. Cl cylinder secured to the crankshaft at its connection to the rod 58] Field of Search ..29/203 D, 203 DT, 203, 200 B whereby the cylinder is constructed to have a degree of eccentricity that will achieve a desired eccentric throw of the rod [56] References Cited 3 Claims, 6 Drawing figures UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,845,108 7/1958 Hammel ..29/203 X I j r 26 5 "4" I fig l:

g o o I PATENTEU FEB 81972 SHEET 2 [1F 2 m mwmz HER BE T; D. 5(HARF VARIABLE CRIMPING ECCENTRIC PRESS This invention relates to a variable crimping eccentric press and more particularly to a new device in this general class.

It is known to provide a crimping press which includes a crankshaft that oscillates a rod which actuates a crimping die. The crankshaft has a built-in degree of eccentricity to produce 'a fixed eccentric throw of the rod, and for this reason only certain types of crimping dies can be used in connection with the crankshaft, namely, those crimping dies which are operative under the fixed eccentric throw of the crankshaft. Unfortunately, crimping dies have not become standardized, and thus the different manufacturers of these devices are offering to the trade crimping dies which are actuated by different amounts of rod eccentric throw. For instance, certain crimping dies may be actuated by an 1% inches throw, whereas others will require 1% inches throw. In view of this, it is not possible to use on present crimping apparatus the crimping die of another manufacturer unless such crimping die is actuated by the same amount of eccentric throw as is built into the crimping device. The foregoing facts tend to limit the usefulness of a crimping press, and furthermore, tend to discourage competition from companies which manufacture the crimping press, but'do not manufacture the crimping dies.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a variable crimping eccentric press which can be so modified in a simple manner as to utilize crimping dies having a variety of eccentric throws.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a variable crimping eccentric press which can be simply and easily modified to have a series of eccentric throws, dependent upon the necessary amount of eccentric throw to operate a given crimping die;

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a variable crimping eccentric press wherein the eccentric throw of the rod can be modified in a simple and inexpensive manner.

The foregoing as well as other objects of the invention are achieved by providing means to vary the eccentric throw of the rod, with such means including a replaceable cylinder secured to the crankshaft at its connection to the die actuating rod, with the cylinder being constructed to possess a degree of eccentricity that will achieve a desired eccentric throw of the rod.

Other objects and many of the attendant advantages of the invention will become more readily apparent by reference to the various figures of the drawing wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a crimping press showing a connecting cylinder attached thereto;

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view taken along the lines 22 of FIG. 1 showing the construction and operation of an eccentric cylinder that has been secured to the end of the crankshaft and operatively connected to the throw rod;

FIG. 3 is a view showing the attachment of an eccentric cylinder to an end of the crankshaft;

FIG. 4 is an elevational view showing a concentric cylinder secured to the crankshaft; and

FIGS. 5 and 6 are views similar to FIG. 4 but wherein two different types of eccentric cylinders are used.

Referring now in greater detail to the various figures of the drawing wherein like reference characters refer to like parts there is shown generally at 10in FIG. 1 a crimping press incorporating the eccentric cylinder feature of the invention. It is to be emphasized that the details of the crimping press are quite conventional, and thus only a few of the standard features will be pointed out. In particular, the press 10 includes a crankshaft 12 contained within a clutch housing 14. A flywheel 16 is attached to one end of the crankshaft 12, with the flywheel being rotated by motor 18 that is operatively connected to belt 20.

A solenoid switch 22 is provided so that the press can make but one revolution at a time.

The crankshaft 12 terminates in end 24 to which is attached the eccentric cylinder feature 26 of the present invention as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6.

It will be seen from FIG. 2 that the eccentric collar 26 serves as an adapter collar in order to connect body 28 with yoke 30 including interposed brass bushing 32.

From FIG. 1 it will be seen that the body 30 includes a lower portion 32 including a block 34 from which rod 36 depends.

It is to be recognized that the crankshaft 12 will have a builtin eccentricity which in turn is conveyed to the rod 36 in order to operate crimping die 38 of known construction. The crimping die 38 serves to affix a terminal to a piece of insulated electrical wire in a manner well known to those skilled in the art.

Details of presses and crimping dies presently in use can be seen in US Pat. Nos. 2,705,797, 2,845,108 and 3,350,765, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

Since the rod 36 of the crankshaft 12 has a fixed, built-in degree of eccentricity, it follows that the crankshaft 12 will always actuate the rod 36 to have a given throw, and thus the rod 36 will not actuate a crimping die unless it is built to carry out its crimping function under the eccentric throw produced by the crankshaft 12. In other words, if it is attempted to use a different crimping die 38 that is actuated by a different eccentric throw, then it has normally been necessary to utilize a different press.

However, with the present invention it is possible to modify a crimping press in order to have varying degrees of eccentric throw, and thus a single press can be used with a much larger number of crimping dies than was heretofore possible.

It will be seen from FIG. 3 that the cylinder 26 is simply slipped onto end 24 of the crankshaft (to replace the concentric cylinder of FIG. 4 that is ordinarily supplied) until the cylinder 26 contacts boss 40 of the crankshaft. With reference to FIG. 2 it will be seen that the boss 40 lies adjacent to spring 42 that is connected to the member 44, all in a conventional manner well known to those skilled in the art.

Crimping presses presently on sale will provide a concentric cylinder 46 as shown in FIG. 4. The connection of the concentric cylinder 46 to the end of the crankshaft 24 may be accomplished by a keyway or by other means (not shown in FIG. 4).

The eccentric cylinders of the present invention are shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. The true center of member 46 is indicated at 48 in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6. It will be noted from FIG. 4 that center 48 is also the true center of concentric cylinder 46. However, in FIG. 5 eccentric cylinder 26 has center 50 which is somewhat spaced from the true center 48. In FIG. 6 eccentric center 50' cylinder 26 is spaced a greater degree from the true center 48.

From the foregoing, it is believed to be clear that a desired number of cylinders 26 may be provided, each with a different degree of eccentricity in order to vary the eccentric throw of the rod 36. It is therefore a simple matter to secure a desired eccentric throw for the rod 36 by attaching to the end 24 of the crankshaft a cylinder 26 having a desired degree of eccentricity. For instance, the built-in eccentric throw of the crankshaft 12 may be five-eighths of 1 inch which produces an 1% inch throw of the rod 36. It may be desired to raise the throw of the rod 36 to 1% inches. This three-eighths inch increase in throw is achieved by providing an eccentric cylinder 26 with a three-sixteenths inch of eccentricity.

It can be seen from FIG. 3 that the eccentric cylinder 26 is simply slipped on to end 24 of the crankshaft 12 until boss 40 is reached, with the boss 40 being a normal part of the crankshaft that extends from middle section 52 of the crankshaft. The securement of the cylinder 26 is achieved through the use of key 54 in a well-known manner. Furthermore, with reference to FIG. 2 it will be seen that the rod 36 actuates a plate 56 that is connected to a plunger 58 that slides up and down in vertical tracks 60. It is the downward plunging action of the plate 58 that is varied with the use of different cylinder 26, and in this way crimping dies requiring a different degree of throw may be actuated by a single press 10.

The present invention is also applicable to a certain class of dies which can be operated only with a maximum eccentric throw. For instance, there are certain dies that cannot be operated with an eccentric throw greater than W4 inches.

While the present invention has been described in connection with the variations of the throw of the rod to actuate a crimping die, nevertheless, the present invention also has application to other types of machinery wherein it is desired to vary the eccentric throw of an output member, such as a rod or the eccentric throw of a crankshaft.

Without further elaboration, the foregoing will so fully illustrate my invention that others may, by applying current or future knowledge, readily adapt the same for use under various conditions of service.

I claim:

1. In a crimping press including a crankshaft with a fixed eccentric throw for oscillating a rod that actuates a crimping die, the improvement comprising variable means to modify said fixed eccentric throw to achieve a desired eccentric throw of the rod, said variable means being operative at the connection of said crankshaft and rod, said variable means comprising a replaceable cylinder secured to said crankshaft, said cylinder having a degree of eccentricity that will achieve a desired eccentric throw of the rod.

2. The invention of claim 1 wherein said rod will actuate dies that normally cannot be actuated beyond a certain max imum throw of the rod.

3. The invention of claim 1 including a plurality of cylinders each with a different degree of eccentricity to achieve a plurality of eccentric throws. 

1. In a crimping press including a crankshaft with a fixed eccentric throw for oscillating a rod that actuates a crimping die, the improvement comprising variable means to modify said fixed eccentric throw to achieve a desired eccentric throw of the rod, said variable means being operative at the connection of said crankshaft and rod, said variable means comprising a replaceable cylinder secured to said crankshaft, said cylinder having a degree of eccentricity that will achieve a desired eccentric throw of the rod.
 2. The invention of claim 1 wherein said rod will actuate dies that normally cannot be actuated beyond a certain maximum throw of the rod.
 3. The invention of claim 1 including a plurality of cylinders each with a different degree of eccentricity to achieve a plurality of eccentric throws. 